Based on a study of the brains of 111 deceased NFL players. Admittedly concussion protocols are better now.. heck, they actually EXIST. 5th grade football was the source of my.. um.. third ? yeah, third concussion. A mind is a terrible thing to waste..

99% of the 111 brains studied. Not the same as 99% of all players. Still, if the game dies out, I will be OK with that. And I used to be a big fan. Now I can't sit through a game. Too many ads and announcers who can't stop yammering ( in their vernacular, too much "periphreal verbage", etc. The constant interruptions result in games with no "flow". And there are other parts of the whole ritual that are not at all appealing to me.

Quotebik
Yeah, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that, of the 111 brains donated, a very high percentage had symptoms while they were living that led them to donate.

As research move forward, I would expect that it will indeed be a depressingly high percentage of players affected, but not 99%.

No need to go out on a limb. The study did clearly state that this was not a representative sample. However, that does not invalidate the conclusion that football (as currently played) is a high-risk factor for CTE at all levels.

Given that, it seems to me that a responsible college or high school would eliminate its football program.

playing pretty fast and loose with the data sets there must be, let me guess, npr or cnn

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All,
I do agree. It's just.... there have been studies and studies.... A classmate did a detailed study of high school football injuries in our city. In 1976. Made recommendations about brain protection, neck protection, etc.... published the report. Even got press coverage to build a buzz. Nothing was done. Children continued to be inured .

Heck, we still allow boxing as a sport, and the main goal of the 'sport' is to cause permanent, potentially fatal injury to your opponent.

Quoteraz
Given that, it seems to me that a responsible college or high school would eliminate its football program.

Football is the reason many colleges exist. It's the biggest source of revenue to cover the biggest state paychecks. Our local U just spent millions to update their football stadium (last major renovation was about 15 years ago). Same money could have put all high school graduates in the state through college for the next 8 years.

Quotebillb
....playing pretty fast and loose with the data sets there must be, let me guess, npr or cnn

billb... that's my title. Deliberately misleading to get your attention. And then explained a bit in the text of my posting.

The NPR article (and the scientific study about it) was very specific about NOT making that sort of conclusion. BUT... the NFL concussion protocols and post-career healthcare programs required by the player's union indicates that this is definitely a problem.

Coal miner ? You will get black lung. NFL Player ? You may get CTE.

Heck.. I recall a high school classmate's father (retired St. Louis Cardinals player) showed definite signs of post concussion syndrome. Real emotional control issues, would get 'lost' on occasion in conversation. Still a successful businessman, but there were things going on that I can relate to now, since I have similar symptoms.

Last fall I took pictures at a high school game. The star RB took a big hit in the second quarter. Got up and went to the huddle. The coach ran on to the field and signaled to the ref who stopped the game and they pulled the kid out. On the sideline the player said he was fine several times. The athletic trainer checked him out and called his parents down from the stands and ordered the player to go to the ER. I began shooting high school fb over 20 years ago and drinking water was considered "weakness". A lot has changed over the years.

With the new protection protocols in the NFL with lower level of football adopting new standards, the game will continue. It will be done with the acknowledgment that it is a contact sport and the participants now have more knowledge on how long they should play the game. If treated correctly, neurosurgeons ahem found that concussions can heal.

There is plenty of information now on how to deal with concussions like never before. This includes findings from neurosurgeons that concussions can be treated. Other recommendations include having players play non-tackle before the age of 14.

Will it all work out perfectly. probably not but the game safety standards have progressed very much since the awareness of this has increased.

Kudos to that coach. Frankly, I'm a little disappointed the ref didn't call a break in the action first.

As you stated, as we continue to learn about the ramifications of the game, we will likely continue to see improvements. But as long as all the sports channels continue to laud the "big hits" in their highlight films, we will also continue to see them.

I don't pretend to know the answers here, and the study is troubling particularly about the NFL. But my son just finished playing 4 years of HS football, and started at linebacker/running back/tight end and so basically played snap for those years. I don't remember a concussion on the football team this year; not to say there wasn't, but nothing memorable. Lots of other injuries, some noncontact, so shoulders, legs, hands, arms. Football teams are large, so you have lots of participants and usually at least two teams, so 30-50 kids or more in every school.

In contrast, there were concussions in girls basketball, as well as both boys and girls lacrosse. There may have been on the hockey teams, and I didn't follow soccer. but also concussions horseback riding and skiing and just generally falling down. So lots of youth sports are dangerous and have a risk of concussions; some more or less and lots of this poorly understood. It will be nice to see real data but that will take a long time. There have been major changes over the past 10 years.

I wonder about steroid use and football, so I would support rigorous testing at college and in the NFL, and possibly even into HS. It does seem like players are bigger and stronger and faster than ever and that increases the risk. But NFL players have likely been abusing steroids going back to the 1970s, so now many of those players are old men, some in this study.

I recall from earlier stories that there is lots of concern about the hits that are not full concussions. The worry is that many small hits of the sort that linemen experience may cause more CTE than is caused by major concussions. I know that the earliest hypotheses suggested that injuries to injuries might be more likely to cause the plaques and degeneration.

Quotemichaelb
I don't pretend to know the answers here, and the study is troubling particularly about the NFL. But my son just finished playing 4 years of HS football, and started at linebacker/running back/tight end and so basically played snap for those years. I don't remember a concussion on the football team this year; not to say there wasn't, but nothing memorable. Lots of other injuries, some noncontact, so shoulders, legs, hands, arms. Football teams are large, so you have lots of participants and usually at least two teams, so 30-50 kids or more in every school.

In contrast, there were concussions in girls basketball, as well as both boys and girls lacrosse. There may have been on the hockey teams, and I didn't follow soccer. but also concussions horseback riding and skiing and just generally falling down. So lots of youth sports are dangerous and have a risk of concussions; some more or less and lots of this poorly understood. It will be nice to see real data but that will take a long time. There have been major changes over the past 10 years.

I wonder about steroid use and football, so I would support rigorous testing at college and in the NFL, and possibly even into HS. It does seem like players are bigger and stronger and faster than ever and that increases the risk. But NFL players have likely been abusing steroids going back to the 1970s, so now many of those players are old men, some in this study.

I have an acquaintance that is a doctor who has 2 boys that play high school football. He tells me they have not had any concussions related to football. They have had a few when they play lacrosse though.

I believe that football should be scrutinized and those in charge should be looking out for the athletes. That being said, football may get a bulk of the attention but we should be looking out for athletes of all sports.

Quotewurm
Kudos to that coach. Frankly, I'm a little disappointed the ref didn't call a break in the action first.

As you stated, as we continue to learn about the ramifications of the game, we will likely continue to see improvements. But as long as all the sports channels continue to laud the "big hits" in their highlight films, we will also continue to see them.

The ref did an initial look at the kid but I believe the kids was hiding it pretty well since it was a big game. The pause allowed the coach to make a decision to check on the athlete again. From my understanding, the area high schools take concussion pretty seriously for all their sports, not just football.